Riverview falls to Wharton

SARASOTA -Riverview and Wharton played a fierce first half Tuesday night, yet were no closer to deciding which team would advance to Saturday'ﾒs region final than they were when they tipped off.

Deadlocked at 21 apiece at the intermission, it was still anyoneﾒs game.

But it was the Wildcats who came out smoking in the third quarter, beginning the second half with a 9-0 run from which the Rams would not recover.

Wharton went on to a 55-41 victory in a Class 8A-Region 2 semifinal game.

The Wildcats (24-4) earned a home game against the winner of Port St. Lucie Treasure Coast vs. Orlando University in the Class 8A-Region 2 championship game. The victor in Saturda'yﾒs game will advance to the State Final Four in Lakeland.

The Rams finished their 2012-2013 season as district champions with a 21-8 record.

ﾓ"We stayed with them until they made that 9-0 run,ﾔ" Riverview coach B.J. Ivey said. ﾓ"Then we just couldn'tﾒt make the run we needed."

ﾓ"We were missing some of the shots that normally fall for us. They didn'ﾒt fall tonight.ﾔ"

Austin Walker, a 6-foot-4 junior, led the Rams with 17 points. He also had five rebounds and five assists.

Sophomore guard Vic Sinopoli added 12 points for the Rams, including a 17-foot jump shot that gave Riverview its first lead of the game at 19-18 with 2:36 left in the second quarter.

Riverview'ﾒs Nick Havener, a 6-8 junior, was limited to eight points, but he also collected seven rebounds and blocked five shots.

ﾓ"Theyﾒ're a very good team and very well-coached,"ﾔ 14-year veteran Wharton coach Tommy Tonelli said of the Rams. ﾓNo. 25 (Havener) is a heck of a player and so is No. 30 (Walker). "Theyﾒr'e young and have great days ahead of them. Theyﾒre going to be really good.ﾔ"

The only senior who played for Riverview on Tuesday was Josh Beychok. The rest were all underclassmen.

"ﾓOur future looks bright"ﾔ Ivey said. ﾓ"Weﾒ'll take a week off and then weﾒll get the opportunity to improve during the offseason. We need to capitalize on the offseason.ﾔ"

The Wildcats were led by a trio of seniors, starting with 6-foot-4 Sir Patrick Reynolds who poured in 17 points. Jaken Grier and C.J. McGill were next in line with 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Last modified: February 19, 2013
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